Bittersweet
by Magenta's Nightmare
Summary: Takes place at Alexandria and it's a longer Caryl story than I normally write. Likely 7-8 chapters, we'll see. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Daryl hadn't slept in almost 2 days, he was exhausted and badly in need of sleep. The house was hot during the day, air conditioning is not something anyone considered a priority use of power.

He'd been with Aaron and things had gone rough. They'd gotten stuck in a plow wind miles out from Alexandria. They found shelter in an abandoned garage and managed to protect his bike and Aaron's car. He had been very lucky to get back. There was a clean up going on in Alexandria today repairing things and clearing the streets of fallen trees.

He was wrecked and was inches away from asking the women in the kitchen to keep the cackling down but didn't think it would be worth the drama.

There was a vent right next to his bed, low down on the wall but the sound travelled through it like a megaphone for some reason. He tossed and turned, throwing the pillow over his head but nothing helped. What the hell was so funny?

Carol rolled her eyes at the conversation going on around her, she had nothing to add. She sat on a kitchen chair with a giant bowl of potatoes in her lap as the hen party progressed. The women were taking the afternoon shift for clean up and relieving the men after lunch.

It was a quiet Saturday morning and every woman in the group was having a loud discussion about men since all the men were out of the house. Daryl was home but surely he'd be asleep.

"I tell you what though, nothing beats having sex when neither of you smell like a walker." Maggie laughed loudly at her own joke and so did all the other women.

Michonne was a little quieter and all Tara's jokes were about women but were just as funny.

Rosita agreed, "If I had to get up close and personal with Abraham without a shower again I was going to consider celibacy."

Another thunderous roll of laughter spread throughout the house.

 _That's it!_ He jumped out of bed sick and tired of the noise and grabbed a pillow off the chair in his room and got on his knees ready to push it against the vent and then find something else to keep it there. He scanned the room looking for something heavy and grabbed his boots. _Perfect!_

He was just about to put his noise cancelling plan into action when he heard his name and crouched down to listen despite his exhaustion.

"Carol? Have you gotten Daryl to shower yet?" Tara asked, still laughing.

"Why me?" she asked, frowning.

"Daryl doesn't need to shower he doesn't have sex," Rosita joked.

"Hey. That's not fair!" Carol protested.

A choir of, "Ooooooh!" erupted from the women.

"Do you know something we don't, Carol?" Maggie asked, with her face still red from laughing.

"No...but let's just leave him out of this." She went back to her peeling sensing all their eyes on her.

"I'm sorry, Carol, it's just impossible to imagine Daryl even having sex, he'd probably bring his crossbow to bed." They all found this hilarious by the sound that spilled throughout the lower level of the house.

"That's going too far." Carol said, fighting a smirk with all she had.

Sasha wasn't laughing and she gave Carol a supportive nod.

Carol didn't like them talking about Daryl like that even if it was just joking. She shook her head added, "That's not funny."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, Carol, seriously I won't say anything else about him." Maggie meant the apology and Carol knew it.

"Good, he is home you know?" Carol warned, "What if he heard that?"

"Relax he'll be dead to the world, he just got home this morning," Tara interjected.

"Can I just ask you one question about Daryl though?" Maggie broached, suddenly very serious.

"Again, why me?" Carol asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Because I can tell you have feelings for him?" Maggie insisted.

Everyone fell completely silent, as silent as Daryl upstairs with his face pressed to the vent.

Carol looked up like she'd been caught red handed but still tried to wiggle out of it. "Of course I have feelings for him, he's probably my best friend."

"We all care about Daryl but it's different with you and you know it."

"Why are you pushing this, Maggie?" She felt cornered.

"I just think you would be happy together. I'm not trying to make you angry, Carol. I'm sorry," she said, not wanting to cross the line anymore with Carol.

"I appreciate that you care about my happiness but it's just not like that."

"Why?" Maggie had been holding these questions inside for ages and decided it was now or never. It was none of her business but finding Glenn had given her a reason to go on after losing her family. She wanted for Carol to have someone, she deserved it. If she didn't believe they liked each other she never would have said anything but she could see them both denying it and wanted to know why.

Carol took a deep breath and shifted in her chair before answering. It was painful to admit this in front of a room full people. "He doesn't think of me that way."

She stood up and walked to the sink and still nobody else spoke.

"How do you know that?"

"I just do, Maggie. There's only so many times I need to told to stop... OK?"

Carol looked desperate to get away from the house and accidentally dropped the bowl in the sink. "I need some air." She smiled at everyone especially Maggie and walked out the front door.

"What the hell, Maggie?" Tara was dumbstruck.

"I don't know, I just wanted to help...I really screwed that up."

"Just a little," Rosita added.

Carol walked out into the heat and sat down on the steps of the porch but couldn't sit still. She wasn't mad at Maggie, she was just embarrassed. She had buried her feelings for Daryl only to have them unearthed and now she had to bury them all over again. She walked out to the street and headed down the road to clear her head and decided to help with the clean up for a while.

Daryl watched from the second floor window wondering how he'd given her the wrong idea and hurt her feelings without even meaning to.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I don't normally write longer stories so I hope it goes well.**_

 _ **xoxo**_

She helped for a while with the clean up but ended up with a pinched nerve in her back and had to stop.

She returned and the first person she encountered was Maggie looking upset.

"It's fine, Maggie, I swear," she smiled, and gave her a quick hug.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure."

Carol headed up stairs to get cleaned up before helping with dinner.

As soon as she reached the top of the stairs she saw Daryl leaving his room. She smiled and gave him a brief wave before walking into the bathroom.

He looked tired, he mustn't have gotten enough rest.

She slipped her shirt from her shoulders and filled the sink with water. She felt tired herself and too hot as usual. She sank a washcloth beneath the surface of the water and squeezed it out slowly and washed her face and then the rest of her upper body.

She felt immediately better, she drained the sink and walked back to her room in her camisole and jeans to get a fresh shirt. She left the door open and began digging through her drawers for something cool.

The room was dim in the mid afternoon light and she needed to unwind before dinner so she dug through her books for something good to read later. She lay on her bed for a minute skimming through the first few pages of her latest find.

She needed something to distract her from Daryl, after this morning she found he kept creeping up in her mind and it hurt.

Later at dinner, Glenn mentioned a run coming up and she jumped at the chance to go along. Getting out to for a day would do her good and help her get her mind right.

"Great! We'll be leaving day after tomorrow at sun up. There's a shopping center a a few hours away and we can be there and back in a day.

"Sounds good," she replied.

"So that's you, me, Sasha, and Tara. Perfect."

She finished dinner and took a walk while it was cool, trying to work the kink out of her back. She took her book and sat down by the water trying to focus on the story but she didn't really care.

By the time she got back almost everyone was sleeping but there was a light coming from under Daryl's door. She didn't think much of it and went to her room to lay down.

Daryl heard her arrive home and went to talk to her.

"Hey..."

"Oh! Daryl, hi."

The light was off and she was just laying on her bed to rest before getting changed.

She raised up on her elbows to look at him.

"What's up?"

"I was thinking of coming on that run with you guys."

"Ok, just tell Glenn I guess."

She had no idea why he was telling her.

"Where did you go?" he asked, not looking at her but at the floor.

"Tonight? Just wanted to be alone to read for a while."

"You OK, Carol?"

She sat up and looked at him curiously, "Yeah."

She smiled and wondered what was up with him.

"Are you ok?"

"If I come along, do you want to maybe come with me on the bike?"

"Sure, just have to run it by Glenn. I think he's organizing this whole thing."

Her back was throbbing and it hurt sitting up so she lay back down even though he was still standing there.

"Sorry, keep talking. I need to lay down."

"What's wrong?" he asked, walking into her room.

"It's my back but it'll be fine, don't worry about it."

She didn't want to make him stay longer than necessary right now, she was in the process of forgetting her feelings again. She rolled over to stop looking at him and hoped he'd leave.

"Can I do something?"

He was suddenly standing right next to her and she closed her eyes. "I'm OK."

She tucked her arm under her pillow trying to emphasize that the conversation could end at any time.

She hissed despite not wanting to admit she was in pain. It was a pinched nerve between her shoulder blades and every time she was stressed it acted up.

"You're in pain, let me rub it for you."

"You don't have to do that, Daryl. I'll be fine."

He was getting the impression she really wanted him to leave.

"Did I do something?"

This was the last thing she wanted, it wouldn't be fair to make him feel like shit just because she wanted more than he did. She still wanted to be his friend, even if it was hard. Carol put on her best act to hide that she was hurting.

"Of course not, Daryl, everything is fine."

She smiled up at him and shrugged her shoulders wincing at the nerve stabbing her in the back.

"Sit up for a second and turn the other way."

"OK."

He was about to make her back feel better and break her heart with his touch simultaneously.

She sat up and faced the wall dropping her head to her chest the second he touched her.

She thought of the first night at the prison and how she had felt when he rubbed her shoulder. That was one of her many memories that ended in a 'stop'.

He held her right shoulder to keep her still and rubbed his hand over the middle of her back.

It felt good and his touch was warm and strong, she leaned over to put her head in her hands.

 _Please stop...you're killing me..._

It went on for 5 minutes as he redirected the pain from her back to her heart.

"Does it feel better now?"

She pulled herself together and shook her head. "It does...thank you."

"Goodnight, Carol," he said, standing up and walking to the door.

She lay down and faced the opposite wall of her room.

"Goodnight."

Daryl sat down on his bed trying to make sense of her behaviour. He didn't want to tell her he knew what they had said. He wondered how to show her he liked her but she didn't seem to want him around. He didn't like the idea of being spied on and he didn't think she'd appreciate it either. He needed to get through to her but for some reason she had turned cold toward him.

He had tried to do something nice and it didn't work the way he hoped. Maybe he'd get a chance to talk to her on the run. Maybe she was over it and she didn't even want him anymore. He didn't know how to bring any of this up without letting her know he'd been eaves dropping.

That first night at the prison she didn't mind him touching her, she had even joked about it.

Then he remember how he'd told her to stop.

One bad word choice and she got the message that he didn't like it.

Every time he didn't know how to deal with something it was a 'go to' response but after so many times she must have taken it literally.

It was probably more than just saying stop, he hadn't flirted back. Not the way she did, not in a way that was apparent to her. He had to fix it but had no plan or clue where to start.

He lay back on his bed trying to imagine what she was thinking and what he could do next.


	3. Chapter 3

Carol woke up feeling both blue and determined to not stay that way. She got ready for the day and decided do some target shooting, any excuse to get away.

The run tomorrow would be a long day but she couldn't just sit around the house. She had some coffee and packed her bag avoiding any contact with Daryl before leaving Alexandria.

She walked out into the woods and sat under a tree just glad to be alone.

She tried not to think about his hands on her back but it was useless. Maybe she wouldn't be able to stay here. She'd have to feel this over and over if she stayed one way or another. Her feelings for Daryl weren't going anywhere and that was clear. Leaving probably wouldn't help because she would just worry about everyone, it seemed she was cursed to feel it.

She fired off some rounds and her aim was spot on, there was no need for practice. She walked in a slow circle around the perimieter of Alexandria and she knew the second she heard the rustle of leaves behind her that it was Daryl.

"Are you following me?" she asked, not slowing down.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Just needed some space," she answered, finally stopping.

"You need a lot of space lately."

He appeared out of the bushes and she wondered how long he'd been watching her.

She shrugged her shoulders and couldn't think of a response that didn't sound cryptic. Everywhere she turned he was unknowingly rubbing salt in the wound.

"I'm fine."

"I talked to Glenn and he said you can come with me if you still want to."

"Sounds good, been a long time."

"Since what?"

"Since I went with you on your bike."

She had loved it before, being pressed against his back and holding him. She imagined it would be a little bittersweet now like everything else between them. All her old memories of them stung now and she didn't know how to stop it.

"I should head back, now. I'll see you in the morning, Daryl."

"I miss it...I liked it when you'd ride with me."

She turned to him and smiled, "Me too, I miss a lot of things."

She walked back to the gates and she could hear him follow her at a distance all the way back.

She didn't come to dinner that night, she needed rest.

She took a hot bath and soaked for a long time reading her book.

"Carol? I'm sorry hun, I need to go..." Maggie knocked at the door and was squirming as she waited.

"Come in, Maggie. I have the curtain pulled, go ahead."

She returned to her book and Maggie used the bathroom and started to wash her hands. "Thanks, I was bustin' and the other bathrooms are being used by men."

"No problem, us girls have to stick together with so many people and so few bathrooms...beats going in the woods."

"Daryl talked to me..."

"Yeah?"

Maggie seemed determined to bring Daryl up these days.

"He asked me if you're mad at him. I told him no and then he said he hopes you still want to go with him tomorrow."

"Why would he think I don't?" Carol asked, sitting up in the tub.

"Just cause you weren't at supper, I think. Carol, I think you're wrong about him, I think he's interested. Daryl never even notices if the other women are there."

"It's cause we're friends."

"I don't know, Carol, when he talked to Glenn about coming on the run he was smiling. He said you agreed to go with him on the bike and he was smiling the whole time. It was almost creepy, I never saw him sustain a smile for that long."

Carol smiled behind the curtain but quickly stopped herself being silly, "Yeah...I don't know, Maggie. He's hard to figure out..."

"Talk to you later, Carol. Thanks again for the potty break."

"Sure." Carol laughed, and sank below the water to warm up.

When Maggie left the bathroom Daryl was packing things for the run and getting ready.

"Isn't, Carol, in there?" he asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, she let me in. I had to go."

He shook his head and continued packing, "Women."

She saw a window to speak to him and gave it a shot.

"So, Carol says she definitely still wants to go with you?"

"Good."

It was like trying to get blood from a stone.

"Well...goodnight, Daryl."

"Night," he looked up and watched her walk down the hall.

Carol opened the bathroom door only a foot, she had on some kind of night dress thing he'd never seen before.

He could see her in the bathroom mirror. She was wet and her hair was messy. From the bathroom door she couldn't see him staring from the other side of his bed but he could see her clearly.

She stood in front of the mirror and grabbed some lotion and started rubbing it on her arms and then her neck.

She raised one of her feet onto the toilet seat and rubbed lotion up and down her leg all the way up her thigh.

 _Jesus!_

After finishing the other leg she looked around quickly and then lifted her dress and tucked it under her chin to keep it up. She got more lotion on her hands and smoothed it over her stomach and then the small of her back. Her hands touched her chest and she smoothed the last of the lotion over her breasts. Carol lifted her head and let the dress fall down and walked back to her room.

He sank to the floor and didn't know what to do next. He had to figure this out and see if he could get through to her. He stood up ashamed of his semi hard dick and shut the door. He crawled into bed and fought the urge to jerk off for at least 10 minutes before giving up.

He imagined her wet skin under his hands and pulling her dress up to touch her. He closed his eyes and tried to convince himself he wasn't an animal as he jerked off to thoughts of pinning her against a wall.


	4. Chapter 4

_**I'm the kind of person who buys you a Christmas present and then tries to give it to you for Thanksgiving so I can't wait a week to post all the chapters I have completed:) I'm not good at waiting to do things so there will be a few more chapters today:)**_

 _ **Enjoy! I hope.**_

Carol was up early and trying to figure out what to wear for a day on the back of Daryl's bike. She settled on jeans and a sleeveless top with a button up shirt. She didn't need a sunburn. She slipped her feet into her boots and went to the kitchen in desperate need of coffee.

Daryl was already outside talking to Glenn so she finished up her coffee and grabbed some quick food before meeting them.

She was feeling better today and decided to just enjoy the day. They worked out the plan with Daryl and everyone checked the map. Glenn, Tara and Sasha loaded up the van and went out first.

"You ready?" he asked, starting up the engine and climbing on.

"Yeah...God it's been a long time," she sighed, and lay her hands on his shoulders before throwing her leg over the bike.

She had never been on this bike and wasn't sure where to sit.

"Move up a bit, don't wanna lose ya," he said, looking back at her.

She took hold of his waist and pulled herself against him. This was going to be a long day. She already felt the vibration of the engine and sensation of him between her thighs making her edgy.

He pulled out and drove through the gates. They couldn't see the van ahead but he knew where they were headed.

She leaned back enough that her chest wasn't touching him until the first hour passed but soon her back was sore and she had to lean her weight on him. Sitting up stiff and straight would kill her back today so she gave it up. She lay her face against his vest and watched the trees pass. So much for getting her mind off of him by going along on a run.

He slowed the bike down and came to a stop on the side of the road an hour into the trip.

He climbed off the bike and helped her off, "Back still sore, huh?"

She nodded, "What's up?"

"Gotta take a piss," he answered, "you need to go?"

"Yeah, but you go first. I can wait."

He walked off into the woods and disappeared in the trees. She paced back and forth and leaned over to touch her toes and stretch her back out.

"Carol!" he hollered, suddenly.

She followed the sound of his voice with her knife drawn and her eyes wide open, "Daryl? You OK? Where are you?"

"I'm good. Over here!"

He was standing next to an old camper.

"I'm gonna check it out, cover me," he said, opening the door with caution.

"You know you scared me, right?"

"I'm sorry," he said, whipping the door open and scanning the inside.

She waited till he had walked around the inside and then he waved her in.

She went through some tiny cupboards and squealed with excitement.

"What is it?" he asked.

She turned to him and shook a bottle of Tylenol.

"My back is killing me, I'm taking this."

"Great," he said, passing her his water so she could take one.

"Thanks."

"We can only take small things but if there's anything good, grab it. We need to get back to the bike."

She rummaged through the drawers and lifted the twin mattress to search the cupboard underneath.

There were clothes and a bag full of toiletries and 2 boxes of condoms.

She rolled her eyes, "Pfft!"

"What?"

"Nothing," she said, tossing the condoms back under the bed. She grinned at him and proceeded to the front of the camper to see if there was anything else useful.

"You should bring 'em," he said.

"Why?"

"May need 'em someday...I mean or you could give 'em to Maggie and Glenn or something."

She squinted at him and shrugged, "Guess you have a point, grab it then. Keep forgetting other people aren't celibate like me."

She laughed and walked out of the camper and waited for him to join her.

He stuffed both boxes in his bag and wondered if maybe someday he could get her to break her vow of celibacy.

They walked back to the bike and he remembered, "Don't you have to go?"

"Oh right, I should. It's still a ways yet, hey?"

"Another hour."

"OK, just a minute."

She walked into the woods far enough that he couldn't see her and crouched at the base of a tree. She was just pulling up her pants when she saw a snake.

She had no idea if it was the kind that could hurt her or not but it was close enough that she thought she might find out. She slowly pressed her back against the tree and waited for it to move on.

When she didn't come back he hollered for her but she was afraid to yell back to him and piss off the snake.

 _Fuck! Do snakes have ears? Help! Fuck! Damn it, Daryl, Help!_

She closed her eyes and waited, praying to herself it would just go away. She wasn't especially afraid of snakes but she didn't know if it was venomous.

Daryl saw her pressed to a tree when he walked back to find her and immediately knew something was wrong and then he spied the snake.

He crept up to the side of her and whispered, "It ain't gonna bite you but get behind me, slow."

She moved behind him and let out a childish sounding whimper of relief to be away from it.

She zipped her jeans up and backed away slowly. It was dead and skinned in 10 minutes and he had it stored on his bike in a plastic bag.

"Lunch," he grinned, climbing back on the bike, "come on."

She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist again but tighter this time.

"My hero," she giggled.

They rode off and she kept her hands tight around him, it was turning out to be a nice day and she was enjoying his company and no longer focusing on downside of loving her best friend.

For a moment it seemed uncomplicated again until one of his hands came to rest on top of hers. His hand didn't move all the way there unless he had to take corners but it always went back. She had no idea what to make of it but she loved it.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasha, Tara and Glenn were already loading up the van when they arrived.

"Hey," said Carol, as she got off the bike, "Where do you need me?"

"There is a store just on the other side of this one and it's clear but the one with the black door, we don't know yet. So start with this one."

Daryl got off his bike and followed her over to the cleared building.

It was an electronics store and they packed up crates of batteries and power cords of all descriptions, anything that looked useful.

He took every box she fill and carried them out to the van before she had a chance.

"I can do it," she protested.

"No, your back hurts," he answered simply, walking past her.

Carol got back down on her knees and started packing the next box.

When he came back in he sat next to her for a minute and just watched.

"Was that OK?...on the bike just then?"

She knew exactly what he meant and maybe someone else would have made him spell it out but she wouldn't make him do that,"It's was fine, I liked it."

She smiled at him and continued to pack up the box.

He'd done this kind of thing before and she recognized it. He would come close and do something to mess with her mind and then back off leaving her wondering what she'd done. She didn't believe for a second that he was doing it intentionally but it was still hard to deal with.

Countless touches, looks, words, actions and favors over the years conning her into believing he was on the same page. She didn't want to let it happen anymore, it felt like a mind game.

"So if I did it again, that's ok?"

This part threw her off guard.

 _Don't fall for it!_

"If you want to, Daryl...I liked it."

 _Damn it!_

He gave her a hint of a smile and took the full crate from her and walked out. She knew she'd always fly happily into the net he'd cast. She would never want anything more than being near him pride or no pride.

He didn't come back in after 15 minutes or so and she began to wonder what he was up to. She carried the box out and to the van and saw everyone but Daryl and Tara.

Glenn took the crate from her and loaded it.

"Where are they?"

"Clearing the last store."

She looked over at the black door.

"I'll go help," she announced, and checked that her gun was loaded and walked over.

"Think we can get this in the van?" Tara asked, trying to lift the box of tools she had gathered.

"I think I can," he answered.

"Get those gorgeous arms over here then and do it!" Tara laughed, and backed away from the box to give him room.

Daryl gave her the strangest look and she grinned at him.

"I'm gay, Daryl, not blind."

"Pfft!" It was all he could think of to say and he walked out of the building with the box of power tools.

He had just gotten back to the van and lit a smoke when he heard Tara scream.

He ran fast as he could back into the building. She was pinned under a walker who had come in through the back door they had opened to air the place out.

She had her knife drawn and he pulled it off her but got cornered by 3 more who had entered through the back.

"Help!" she screamed and Sasha and Carol were there immediately and between them both they took care of two walkers getting closer to Daryl.

"Get out!" he screamed at her.

She ignored him as he tripped on a box and fell back onto the floor. She shot the walker about to close in on him and scanned around for more threats. Tara stabbed the fourth through the head and Glenn checked and closed the back door.

"Let's get moving!" Glenn yelled, "we got everything we need."

"Everyone OK?" Carol asked, reaching down to help Daryl up. He pushed her hand away, "I told you to go, I had it!"

"You don't get to decide that!" Carol retaliated.

"What?"

"This is what we do, Daryl. If I can help, I will."

"You don't need to risk your life for me again!"

Everyone took a step back and watched as the two of them went at it, yelling right into each other's face.

"I'll decide who I risk my life for and that will always include you, Daryl! So get used to it!"

Glenn nodded to Tara and Sasha and they filed out, nobody wanted to witness this.

"I don't want you getting hurt for me!" he yelled, trying to control his temper.

"It's not a choice. You really think I could just stand there and do nothing?" she asked incredulously. She was surprised by his stubborness.

"I'll care about you as much as I want, Daryl, it's the one thing that's still up to me in this world."

He paced for a moment and finally realized he was being an idiot.

"I'm sorry."

She walked up to him and stopped him pacing. "It's OK."

"Thank you, Carol...I was totally fucked there."

She held her hand out to him and he took it, "Let's go, they'll think we killed each other."

They got to the bike and quicky parted ways with Glenn, Sasha and Tara.

Tara gave Daryl a long hug before he could see it coming and told him thank you more than once.

"Anytime, Tara."

He hugged her back and looked at Carol over Tara's shoulder as if to ask 'Is this normal?'.

She grinned at his awkwardness about a simple thank you hug.

People didn't usually hug him and when they did it wasn't normally for that long.

Carol climbed on the back of the bike and they headed back home.

Carol was still a little shaken from what happened and to get back on the bike and hold him felt great.

She could admit to herself how much she loved him but nobody else, she just enjoyed being close to him. She rested her face on his back and wrapped her arms around him again as they turned onto the back roads heading home.

After a few minutes he lay his hand over hers and she felt something inside her burn and then sting.

 _He's just your friend._

She pushed the voice away and held him tighter.


	6. Chapter 6

She was so calm and happy, she would be able to be friends with him if she just kept trying to see his behaviour as friendly.

No matter what it meant, his hand felt so good over hers and she just enjoyed it. The sky was bright blue and her back didn't hurt anymore, everything felt great.

The last thing she expected was to end up sitting by the roadside an hour into the trip home.

"Damn it!" Daryl kicked at the ground and paced back and forth.

She waited for him to come to terms with the situation before commenting.

She looked around and they were in just about the same place they stopped before to take a break. He was still ranting and she watched, amused with his frustration.

"Daryl?" she said, softly.

"What?"

"It's a flat right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it looks like we are pretty close to where we stopped before."

"So?"

"So, it's a long shot but maybe there is something to patch the tire back at the camper. I know you aren't gonna find a spare for this bike but it's something? Right?"

"Yeah..."

He steadily calmed down.

She smiled and stood up to walk to the camper and he followed.

"It's not that far, I'll bring the bike so I can work on it if I find something."

"Wait, we should leave a sign so when they come looking they can find us." she suggested.

"I ain't got paper, got a permanent marker on the bike though."

She thought hard for a minute and came up with a ridiculous but effective idea, "You still have those condoms?"

He looked at her like she'd lost her mind, "Huh?"

"Do you?"

He grabbed his bag and handed her one of the boxes and she opened it and started blowing them up like balloons.

"Thank God they aren't lubricated," she said, sitting cross legged in the ditch with 3 blown up condoms in her lap.

"Why? What the hell are you doing?"

"The marker won't write on them if they had that slimy stuff all over them," she said, hold her hand out to him, "marker, please."

He handed her the marker and she wrote on each of the condoms GLENN, TARA and SASHA in big block letters and a short description of where they were.

She stood up suddenly, and began looking all over the bike and in her bag, "String...string...string..."

"Here," Daryl said, handing her some thin rope he used as a tie down on his bike.

"Perfect!"

She got busy and tied them together and then she needed to hang them where they would be seen. A low hanging branch over the road caught her eye. "Daryl, gimme a boost."

He walked over and bent down grabbing her around her thighs and lifted her up to reach the tree.

It was brilliant, ridiculous but brilliant.

She stood looking up at the condoms and smiled. "That'll work, right? I mean it's stupid but if we don't get your bike fixed we really need them to find us."

He shook his head and smiled at her, "It's perfect, you're like MacGyver!"

Carol laughed hard, she'd take that compliment.

It took a while to get back to the camper with Daryl having to push the bike but they eventually got there and he immediately set to work searching for any tools or anything to patch the tire. He had run over a screw and it tore the tire but only a half an inch or so.

She started a small fire and then helped him search for something to patch the tire.

"Hey! I found rubber cement? That any good?" she asked, handing it to him.

"Yeah, good. Just need something to patch it with but then we still air in it.

Damn! it's been a long day," he said, looking very tired all of a sudden.

"Rest a while, I'll look," she said.

"We should both rest, it's hot and we haven't eaten anything."

She sighed, "You're probably right."

"They'll come back when we ain't behind them and see your...balloons anyway. Man, that was a good idea."

She grinned and didn't know what to do next. She picked up her bag and found some bread she had brought and handed it to him.

He took it and then asked her, "You eating too?"

"No, I'm OK. I want you to have it."

He stood up and grabbed the snake from the bike and started to cook it over the fire.

The idea of snake that had been sitting in the saddlebag of his bike sounded pretty terrible but she went along with it.

After they ate she stood up stretching her back and went in search of more Tylenol.

"Still hurtin'" he inquired.

"No, it felt great for a good few hours, it's just hurting again."

He grabbed their bags and nodded to her. "Come in for a while and lay down, they'll be back for us any time now."

She went in and took off her button up shirt and threw it on a counter.

The twin mattress of the old camper looked stiff and dusty but she found a quilt and threw it over top before laying down.

She lay with her face to the wall of the camper and he sat down behind her.

"Sorry, there ain't nowhere to sit in here."

"Then lay down," she suggested, "it's actually pretty comfortable."

She felt at ease and confident that help would be coming soon. He lay down behind her and he shifted around a lot trying to find space.

"You got ants in your pants, Daryl?" she joked.

"It's small, there ain't nowhere to put myself where I'm not touching you."

"Relax, I'm not going to get upset if you touch me."

"OK, I just need to close my eyes for a minute...been a long day..."

"Go ahead and rest for a minute, then we'll get the bike working or Glenn, Tara and Sasha will get here...it'll be fine."

She yawned and hissed when she moved funny.

"Come here," he said, moving up behind her and rubbing her back.

The absolute last thing she remembered was him rubbing her back and her saying it felt good.

When she opened her eyes again it was pitch black and a little cool.

"Daryl!"

She turned over on the mattress and felt for him and he was right there.

He groaned and reached for her without waking up.

"Daryl...wake up! They didn't come and we fell asleep."

He opened his eyes and it felt like he'd gone blind he couldn't see a single thing.

"Carol?"

He grabbed her and touched her face.

"What the hell happened?"

"We just fell asleep but they didn't come back for us and the bike is still busted."

"It must be the middle of the night, I can't see a damn thing," he groaned, shifting on the mattress.

She rolled onto her back and tried to make out some kind of shape but there was no light for miles around and she couldn't even see her hands in front of her face.

"What do we do, Daryl?"

"Nothin'. Just stay, there's nothing we can do. You OK?"

"Yeah, it's just so dark," she said, feeling like she'd fallen down a dark hole.

He moved closer to her and grinned, "You scared?"

"Of course not..." she said, turning her head to his voice.

"Good, I won't let anything happen to you, you know that."

"I know." She shivered a little in the cool air.

He grabbed the blanket at the foot of the bed and threw it over her.

"Thanks."

She wrapped it around her and felt better right away.

"You warm enough?" he asked.

"Yes, you need some? Here."

She turned on her side and rested her weight on her elbow as she threw the blanket over his shoulder.

There they were in the middle of complete blackness, in an old abandoned camper.

Daryl couldn't think of a single place he'd rather be. He had to touch her before he lost his nerve...

 _ **I know, I know...I'm even driving myself a little crazy. Next chapter I promise;)**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Working on 8 as we speak. lol**_

In the dark he suddenly felt brave enough to put his arm over her.

"This OK?"

"Yes," she said, touching his arm.

"Can't believe how dark it is in here."

"I know, I can't see anything at all."

"I'm not tired anymore," she said, sighing heavily.

"Yeah, me neither. Wanna just talk?"

"OK..."

It felt completely normal to be laying next to him with is arm over her waist. For some reason it felt like they'd been doing this every night for years.

He wasn't going to get a better chance to try and fix things with her, she couldn't take off anyway. He thought about it all day and he realized there was no other way. He'd keep chasing his tail trying to make a move if he didn't just tell her the truth.

"Carol, can I tell you something without you getting upset?"

"Go ahead," she answered.

"That morning when I got back after the storm and I was sleeping?"

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't sleeping...I couldn't sleep with all the noise downstairs and I heard what you said."

She froze and squeezed his arm unconsciously.

"Daryl...I was-"

"You're wrong about me. I don't blame you at all for that cause I sent you all the wrong messages."

"What are you saying?"

"Maybe it's done and I missed my chance but I wanted you to know you were wrong and I never really wanted you to stop...I always liked it. When you did stop I was miserable."

She lay still and wished so badly she could see his face. All she had was the sensation of his arm around her and his voice.

"I thought it bothered you, not at first but after a while...I just thought I was making you uncomfortable."

"I didn't know what to say, Carol. Nobody ever talked to me like that before."

Now she was the one with no words.

"I was just thinking if you hadn't come along and saved my ass again today then you'd never know that...so I wanted to tell you now while I can."

"So what does this mean? I can joke around with you again?"

Carol came a little closer and her forehead lay against his chest.

"If you want to...what it really means is I miss you being like that with me. It felt like we were getting somewhere and then you backed off and until the other day I didn't know why. Sometimes I thought maybe we'd end up being together but then you weren't the same with me. You kinda pushed me away, but I get it now."

"Is that still what you want?"

"It's what I want, I always wanted it but this stuff confuses me and I-"

"Stop..."

He froze and he knew it was now or never.

He touched her face and moved up close and his thumb grazed her lower lip. She could feel it coming and yet didn't believe it until she felt his warm lips meet hers.

She kissed him soft and slow.

Daryl took a hold of her face and kissed her harder, it was a completely unconscious reaction. She touched his chest and turned her head licking his bottom lip and he opened his mouth pushing his tongue against hers.

He moved his hands under the blanket to touch her waist and his fingers crept around to her back.

There was a fire between them they had been stoking for years and they could both feel it getting out of control.

He could feel her shiver against his hands, "Are you cold or nervous?" he whispered.

"Nervous."

"Don't be nervous, I won't do nothin' you don't want."

She ran her fingers into his messy hair, she had thought of doing it so many times before and now she could. She felt his fingers on her bare skin and his hands were hot leaving a burning trail everywhere he touched her.

Daryl needed to have her but didn't know how fast to go.

The fact that he couldn't see her made it hard to believe it was real.

She climbed on top of him and he groaned at the sensation of her resting her weight on his hard dick. She could feel it and it was driving her mad.

It became harder and harder to maintain any semblance of control as she instinctively moved her body against him.

She moaned and licked his neck and earlobe. He clung to her with his hands pressed to her back and then he pulled her top over her head.

She needed his hands on her so she took her own bra off and threw it to the floor.

"Touch me," she breathed, "please, Daryl, touch me."

She leaned down and kissed his mouth and he took her breasts in his hands squeezing and then moving his mouth to her nipples as she rode him. The feeling of friction was making her wet and desperate for him.

She needed his clothes off and after a few minutes of him teasing her into a ravenous mess she began to strip him.

It felt unbelievable to Daryl that she needed him so badly, it made sense to him that he needed her but not the other way around.

Her hands moved so fast over him and soon she was yanking his pants down his legs.

He never expected her to be this wild but he loved it. He grabbed her once she got him out of his clothes and rolled her under him and kissed her stomach.

"Mmmm...that feels good..." she sighed.

She didn't know she needed it quite this bad until today and now that they started there was no way she could stop or slow down.

He was planning to take off her jeans but she beat him to it. This was a woman who knew just what she wanted.

She lifted her hips and pulled them off, sitting up long enough to pull him down over her again.

She reached down between them and took his hard dick in her hand.

"I need you...now."

Her voice was steady and laced with desire.

"What about the uh...?"

"Where's your bag?" she said, figuring he must mean condoms.

He got up quick and started searching in the pitch black for his bag.

"Did you see it?" he asked, already starting to get frustrated.

"No, but I know you brought it in."

She sounded anxious and got off the bed and started searching for it as well.

"Maybe we could just..." she began.

"You want a little ass kicker, Carol?"

She growled, she knew he was right and kept looking.

3 minutes later he was still looking and she whined and crawled back onto the bed.

"I can't believe it!" she said, completely disappointed.

"It's all right, we'll find 'em in the morning." he said, trying to calm her down.

She sighed and he got back on the bed.

"Plenty we can do till then."

"but-"

"Shhhh...lay down."


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm sorry...this just seems like a cruel twist of fate, doesn't it?"

Carol squirmed on the bed and waited for him to come closer.

"Can't risk it, I finally got you now I can't let anything happen to you."

He kissed her and moved his hand down her leg. He was no expert but he had to do the best he could with what he had. He wanted to please her, she was so hot right now and he needed to get her there.

He licked down her stomach and she moaned touching his hair.

He reached up and touch her breasts and pinched her nipples as his mouth came into contact with her wetness.

"Jesus...Daryl..."

It felt good everywhere at once and she moaned into the dark needing more.

He lifted her legs onto his shoulders and went deeper and she panted and prepared for a powerful release. When he pushed his fingers into her heat she melted into the pillow clawing at his hair and screaming his name with abandon.

She took several deep breaths as she came down and rolled onto her side to gather her thoughts.

"Oh my god Daryl! That was amazing, I can't wait to get my hands on you." She got up and jumped at him reaching down to touch his dick and licking his throat.

"Carol!...Is that you? Carol?"

There was suddenly a loud knock at the door and they both jumped and started pulling at the covers.

"Who is that? Is that Tara?" She wrapped the blanket around her and looked through the curtains. She opened the door and looked down at her, "You're here! We got a flat tire. Where is everyone?"

"Maggie and Glenn are right behind me. Sasha stayed back for watch duty... are you?"

Daryl came to the door, "Is it safe out there right now?"

"Yeah," Tara answered with a puzzled expression on her face to see him standing there half naked.

"You armed?"

"Yes, Daryl. Why?"

"Flashlight." he said.

"What?"

"Need your flashlight and we'll be out in half an hour, OK?"

Tara clued in as he was talking and handed over her flashlight and winked before sitting down to wait for the others.

Carol grinned and took the flashlight and searched the camper again. He grabbed his bag that had been only feet from the door and grabbed the condoms.

"How the hell did we miss that?" she laughed.

"You want more?" he grinned.

"Oh yes, come here..."

He set the flashlight on the dresser and left it turned on so he could finally see her.

She lay back and waited as he unrolled the condom and then climbed onto the bed.

"Thought I was gonna lose you today," she said suddenly.

"You didn't. Don't get all serious, you."

She pulled him close and kissed him softly, "I love you...how's that for serious?"

"I love you too," he smiled, and held onto her tight as he pulled her leg around his hip.

She ran her fingers down his back and now that things had slowed down she could feel her heart swell with the need to hold onto him and have him all over her.

He kissed her and slid into her at the same time and she felt herself shudder as her head moved back on the pillow. She could feel it all over as her nerves reacted to his body.

"Damn...Carol...it's so good."

He moved slow and she held his face in her hands and enjoyed seeing his expression in the glow of Tara's flashlight.

She wouldn't have missed the look in his eyes for anything. She could see how he felt written all over his face. He pushed harder and a little faster as she arched her back pulling him into her with the heels of her feet against his lower back.

He kissed her neck and moved his hand all over her body as he drove into her. "I want you to feel good, Carol."

"I feel amazing, Daryl...don't stop..."

"I won't."

He continued and became louder as he approached the end. The sound of him groaning and growling over her along with his pained expression made her weak.

"Mmmm Daryl, you're so good. Give it to me... hard as you can."

He took hold of her ass in his right hand and lifted her hips off the bed driving into her with everything he had.

She gasped and held onto his strong arms feeling ready to cum again. She wasn't expecting to but the depth and the angle of this made her feel it somewhere inside she never had before.

She moaned out loud with a few appeals to the almighty along with repeating Daryl's name. She came undone just as he did and neither of them considered for a second that Tara could hear ever word.

"Carol! Fuck...Mmmmmm. Damn it!"

She grinned as they finally stopped hollering and tried to regain her composure.

She lay completely still for at least five minutes and held onto him.

"They are coming, we better get out there."

"OK, just hard to move right now." she grinned.

He stopped her as she was getting off the bed.

"That happened fast...are you?" he said.

"I don't regret it, you could have died today without this ever happening."

"Good, I was hoping you didn't. You're beautiful, Carol."

He kissed her again and had to pry himself off of her so they could get moving.

When she stepped out of the camper Tara, Maggie and Glenn were all sitting around the small fire with stunned expressions.

"Sorry," she said, trying not to make eye contact, "I'm glad you found us, thank you."

She threw her bag over her shoulder and then Daryl followed behind her also not looking at anyone.

"I knew it!" Maggie exclaimed, and slapped her knee.

They all had a short uncomfortable laugh and shared awkward glances.

Glenn stood and started to put out the fire. Daryl handed Tara the flashlight and she winked at him making him turn red.

"We can come back for your bike in the daylight, had a hell of a time finding this place out here in the dark," Glenn said, trying to be nonchalant.

"With the condoms in the tree we thought it was some kind of weird orgy party invitation," Tara joked, and started toward the road with a grin.

When they finally got back to Alexandria day was breaking and she went to the bathroom immediately to shower and then she needed a few more hours of sleep.

She came out of the bathroom and he was laying on his bed waiting for her.

"You wanna come lay down with me?" he asked, sounding very young all of a sudden.

"Of course, I'm tired all over again."

"No wonder," he laughed.

She curled up beside him and pulled his covers up to her chin. She heard the downstairs door shut and then voices coming through the vent just a foot below her.

 _-Seriously?_

 _-I'm telling you, it was crazy!_

 _-They knew you were there?_

 _-Yep, just took my flashlight and then they went at it screaming the house down like wild animals!_

Apparently Tara was filling Sasha in on all the juicy details and Carol laughed herself silly.

He wrapped his arm around her from behind and kissed her neck.

"See? I need to change rooms." he said, laughing to himself about the whole thing.

A few minutes later Daryl appeared to be almost sleeping and her mind drifted back to the past. All the times they had laughed, every touch, every look suddenly came flooding into her mind. Strange that this turn of events was making all these memories beautiful again after they had become painful for so long. She had so much now to look ahead to with Daryl. Who knew what the future held anymore? Life was dangerous and filled with hardship but she'd take this happiness as long as she could, she wouldn't take it for granted. Looking forward made her feel excited for a change and she knew he'd be with her no matter what happened.

Carol felt blessed that when she thought back to all the times she cherished with him they were no longer bitter, only sweet.

 _ **Thanks for reading:) I think that's it my beautiful peoples. I really hope everyone liked it, I did my best.**_

 _ **Magenta XOXO**_


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